Oregon State University on Tuesday accepted President F. King Alexander’s offer to step down just eight months after he took office.
Members of the OSU board of trustees said they were persuaded to part ways with Alexander because of opposition and concern from OSU teachers and students.
Alexandre offered to resign on Sunday. The trustees voted unanimously to accept their offer. They also approved a legal agreement. The agreement provides for Alexander to receive about $ 670,000 at one time, in addition to medical benefits for one year.
The money will come from private sources, rather than tuition or state support.
Alexandre said he offered to resign because it will allow everyone to “move on”. He said that his first priority was always the students.
Alexander’s resignation will take effect on April 1. Until then, it will be placed on administrative license. The trustees appointed OSU Provost Edward Feser as interim president.
Alexander has been criticized since earlier this month, when a report criticized the fact that he dealt with charges of sexual misconduct when he was president of Louisiana State University and was released to the public.
Last Wednesday, the OSU board put Alexander on probation until June 1. They did so despite the emotional testimony of students, teachers and victims of sexual violence that they needed to fire the new president.
At that point, the healers clearly felt that they needed more time before making such a move.
Since then, they have heard loud and clear that they have made a mistake. Council chairman Rani Borkar said the curators found out in three days what they thought would take them 60.
It was an exciting encounter. The tearful Lamar Hurd apologized to people who testified last week that Alexander’s lax reaction to cases of sexual misconduct should disqualify him from OSU work.
“I haven’t slept well,” said Hurd, an analyst at Blazer television broadcasts. “I’m sorry for the pain that people have suffered. OSU is not about that. “
Julia Brim-Edwards, another curator, said she received many messages from various OSU constituents expressing her anger at the council’s failure to fire Alexander last Wednesday.
“Many people felt they were not heard,” said Brim-Edwards. “I apologize to them.”
The work of the president of the University is demanding, difficult and increasingly volatile. Alexander’s resignation comes as the Oregon Institute of Technology faculty demands the resignation of President Nagi Naganathan. In May 2019, Rahmat Shoureshi resigned under pressure as president of Portland State University.
Since last week’s meeting, the Faculty Senate has voted 108-4 in favor of a motion calling for Alexander’s resignation.
Senate leaders referred the issue to the rest of the faculty. With 1,864 votes received, 83% voted in favor of a motion calling for Alexandre’s resignation. About 11.7% voted against it.
On Monday night, the Louisiana State University board of supervisors gave its opinion. If Alexander expected his ex-bosses in Baton Rouge to be useful for his cause, he was deeply disappointed.
In a letter to the OSU board of trustees, Robert Dampf, chairman of the LSU board of supervisors, stated that Alexander had deceived them on several fronts.
Alexander tried to cast doubt on an independent review commissioned by LSU on the way the university handles complaints of sexual misconduct and harassment. Alexander repeatedly told the Oregon State Council that the so-called Husch Blackwell report was a sloppy case that missed the important facts in part because the authors didn’t even bother to talk to him.
Dampf said it was not true. He was called twice for interviews and declined, says Dampf, responding with a written statement.